Ginseng is a perennial plant belonging to the genus of Ginseng, the family of Araliaceae in the classification of the plant. About eleven kinds of ginseng have yet been known on the earth. The representative species of ginseng include Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer which grows naturally in the area of far-east Asia at 33° through 48° North Latitude (Korea, Northern Manchuria, an area of Russia) and which has excellent pharmaceutical effects; Panax quinquefolium L. which grows naturally or has been cultivated in the United States and Canada; Panax notoginseng F. H. which grows naturally or has been cultivated in China (the south-eastern area of Yunnan province and the south-western area of Guangxi province); and Panax japonicus C. A. Meyer which ranges widely in the area of Japan, the south-eastern China and Nepal.
Ginseng was classified as a top grade in plant efficacy by SINON HERBAL (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, called in China), the earliest herbal in China, and has been used as a valuable restorative for a long time. From many pharmacological experiments, it is demonstrated that ginseng strengthens the non-specific resistance of a human body in respect to the stress and also has an anti-acidic action. It has also been clarified that ginseng has other pharmacological effect such as improving hypertension, strengthening insulin action, lowering blood sugar level in Alloxan diabetic mouse, hepatic RNA synthesis in white rat, promoting protein synthesis and sugar and lipid metabolism together with an anti-tumor effect.
In Asian countries of Korea, China and Japan, ginseng has been used as a natural medicine for treating various diseases such as mental diseases, disorders in nervous system and diabetes. Saponin, a principal active component of ginseng, has been known as having the effect of strengthening robustness or stamina, sedation and anti-hypertension.
At the present time, ginseng is used in form of white ginseng processed by drying crude ginseng from the cultivated at ambient temperature, red ginseng processed by heating crude ginseng (green ginseng) at 98 to 100° C., or super red ginseng prepared by heating crude ginseng at 120 to 180° C.
On the other hand, ginseng root contains about 4 to 10% of ginseng saponin (e.g., Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer contains 4 to 8% of ginseng saponin, and Panax quinquefolium L. contains 4 to 10% of ginseng saponin). Said ginseng saponin refers to a mixture of various ginsenosides. In particular, Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer contains relatively high content of ginsenoside Rb1, Rc and Rg1, and Panax quinquefolium L. contains relatively high content of ginsenoside Rb1 and Re.
Specific type of ginsenoside included in ginseng and their pharmacological effects are shown in the following Table 1.
TABLE 1Type ofGinsenosideEffectGinsenoside-Suppression of central nerve with sedation, Suppression of central nervous voracity,Rb1Suppression of aggressive movement, Alleviation of pain, Anti-convulsion, Anti-apprehension, Accelerating secretion of adrenal cortex stimulating hormone andcorticosteron, Promoting bio-synthesis of cholesterol, Improvement of memory,Lowering hyper-cholesterol, neutral fat and free aliphatic acid, Acceleratingsubsistence of nerves cells, Protection from liver damage, Accelerating synthesis ofDNA, RNA, protein and lipid in marrow cells, Accelerating acetylcholin release,Vasodilation, Suppression of agglutination of thrombocytes, Suppression of lipidperoxidation, Promoting cholesterol metabolism, Anti-inflammation, Activation ofvoracity function, Suppression of hypertrophy of glomerulus.Ginsenoside-Accelerating sugar and fat metabolism, Anti-diabetic action, Controlling equilibriumRb2of fat metabolism, Accelerating protein and fat synthesis, Lowering hyper-cholesterol and preventing arteriosclerosis, Antagonism on cancer toxin hormone,Suppression of proliferation of smooth muscle cells, Accelerating secretion ofadrenal cortex stimulating hormone and corticosteron, DNA, RNA, Improvement ofstressful decrease of appetite, Suppression of generation of tumoral vessel,Accelerating production of anti-peroxidative substance, Activation of ATP supply inliver tissues, Adjustment of immunity, Promoting cholesterol metabolism,Proliferation of liver cells and Acceleration of DNA synthesis, Suppression ofagglutination of thrombocytes, and Alleviation.Ginsenoside-Accelerating synthesis of RNA, serum cholesterol in liver, Accelerating synthesis ofRcDNA, RNA, protein and lipid in marrow cells, Pain alleviation. Acceleratingsecretion of corticosteron, Promoting bio-synthesis of prostacycline and Suppressionof hypertrophy of glomerulus.Ginsenoside-Accelerating secretion of adrenal cortex stimulating hormone and corticosteron,RdSuppression of the hypertrophy of glomerulus.Ginsenoside-Accelerating secretion of adrenal cortex stimulating hormone and corticosteron,ReAlleviation of pain, Vasodilation, Anti-high temperature stress, Suppression of theproliferation of smooth muscle cells, Accelerating synthesis of DNA, RNA, proteinand lipid in marrow cells, Protection from liver damage, and Promoting cholesterolmetabolism.Ginsenoside-Strengthening immune function, Suppression of agglutination of thrombocytes, Anti-Rg1thrombin, Activation for the efficiency, Increasing an ability of memory and study,Anti-fatigue, Anti-stress, Excitation of central nerve, Vasodilation, Anti-inflammation, Anti-nephritis and functioning as a agent to increase the amount ofblood stream in kidney, Function to protect from the injurious stimulation like hightemperature circumstance and heat resistant-pyrogenic substance, Improvement ofstressful lesion of slow motion, Accelerating subsistence of nerves cells,Proliferation of liver cells and Acceleration of DNA synthesis, Acceleratingsecretion of adrenal cortex stimulating hormone, Promoting cholesterol metabolismand Protection from liver damage.Ginsenoside-Suppression of experimental liver damage, Promotion of differentiation of tumoralRh1cells, Suppression of agglutination of thrombocytes, Anti-inflammation and Anti-allergy.Ginsenoside-Suppression of cancer cell proliferation, Inducing re-differentiation of cancer cell,Rh2Suppression of permeation of cancer cells, Suppression of tumor proliferation,Increasing anti-cancer activity of an anti-cancer medicine, Anti-allergy.Compound KSuppressing significant generation of tumoral vessel and spread of cancer cell,Blocking secretion of IV type collagenase, Activating to form anti-regenerationvessel, and Suppressing agglutination of thrombocytes, Anti-allergy and Anti-inflammation.
It has been found that the principal active components responsible for pharmacological effects of ginseng are saponins such as ginsenoside Rb1, Rb2 and Rc. However, the active materials substantially having anti-tumor activities, capacities for suppressing metastasis of cancer cells, and/or anti-allergic effects include saponins such as Compound K (20-0-β-D-glucopyranocyl-20(S)-protopanaxidiol) as a intestinal-bacterial fermenting product, ginsenoside Rh1 and Rh2 and Δ20-ginsenoside Rh2, but these saponins are contained in ginseng in extremely small amount.
Accordingly, it is necessary to increase amounts of saponins such as Compound K, ginsenoside Rh1 and Rh2 and Δ20-ginsenoside Rh2 (i.e. the mixture of ginsenoside Rk2 and ginsenoside Rh3) as present at extremely lower level in the crude ginseng, in order to improve anti-cancer activities, anti-allergic effects and reinforcement of immune activity in human bodies by pharmacological effects of ginseng.